The Sacrifice
by Princess Tyler Briefs
Summary: When the trio finds themselves out of food again they land in a forest to eat some peaches they found. Only one problem. The peaches belong to a God, and he believes they should pay for what they stole in blood...No couples, read like an episode
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Believe it or not, I dreamed this story. It was just like watching an episode, it was so cool! The sleeping mind is an amazing thing. Now, lets hope I can get what happened in my head onto paper, shall we?

Special thanks to Neko-chan for coming up with the name for the God, and to Angelique and TD for encouraging me to make this a story. This is for you guys.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Avatar, it's owned by Nick. If I owned it we would have a giant Appa beanbag.

**Authoress:** Reggie

**Title:** The Sacrifice

* * *

Sokka turned the bag upside down eagerly. When nothing came out, he shook it. A few crumbs fell out but were quickly blown away by the breeze. With a sigh, Sokka threw the bag over his shoulder. "Why am I not surprised we're out of food, again?"

"Well, it isn't like flying around on a bison is a very profitable business," Katara shot back from where she was seated next to Aang at the front of the saddle.

"You know, Aang, maybe we should start charging to save people. That way, we wouldn't go hungry nearly as often."

"Sokka!"

"What, it was just a suggestion."

Katara shook her head as Aang let out a sudden gasp.

"Peaches!"

"Where?" Sokka was up next to him quickly, leaning over Appa's saddle to get a better look. Sure enough, below them was a large tree with its golden fruit visible even from that distance. "Oh man! Those have to be bigger than my head!"

"Even Appa isn't bigger than your head," Katara said, climbing up beside the two boys.

"Very funny," Sokka muttered back.

Katara looked at the peaches longingly before shaking her head, "peaches don't grow naturally like that. Someone has to tend to them. If we just take them it will be stealing."

"Do you see any houses around?" Sokka asked, gesturing toward the expanse of forest that stretched for miles in every direction. "You don't just grow a gigantic peach tree and not have a house. Besides, Aang's the Avatar." Sokka wrapped his arm around Aang's shoulder at this, and Aang grinned. "The only people who don't want to help the Avatar are those in the Fire Nation. Does this look like the Fire Nation to you?"

"You just want the peaches."

"You just don't want to admit I'm right," Sokka said as his stomach growled loudly. Aang laughed as Katara threw her arms up in defeat.

"Alright, fine. We are all hungry, and I'm sure we can always offer to work for them if they get mad about it."

"You do that then," Sokka said, leaning back with a triumphant look on his face. Katara scowled at him.

"Come on, Appa," Aang said excitedly as he pulled on the reigns, "lets go get some food!"

The gaint bison made a noise of agreement, and the weary travelers found themselves quickly descending. No sooner had Appa's feet touched the ground than Sokka was sliding off his side and dashing toward the tree. Unsheathing his boomerang, he threw it up and snapped the twigs holding three of the peaches in place. He caught his boomerang and sheathed it before dashing forward and grabbing the falling fruit as well. They weren't quite bigger than his head, but still large enough to make a meal on their own.

Sokka quickly took a bite, and let out a loud and overly dramatic sigh of satisfaction. "These are so good!"

"Let me try," Aang whined, running over and snatching one of the pieces from Sokka. He took a careful bite, and his grey eyes lit up with delight. "Katara, you have to try this!"

Sighing and shaking her head as she watched the two boys devour their own peaches, Katara took the one her brother offered her. She took a small bite, and smiled. "Well, they are pretty good."

"Pretty good? They're amazing!" Sokka said, wiping some of the juice off his face with the back of his hand. Appa made a noise of protest, and the trio looked at him. Aang smiled.

"You want some too, don't you boy?"

"I'm on it," Sokka said, unsheathing his boomerang again. He pulled back to throw again when a sudden whistling sound filled the air. Aang and Katara watched in surprise as an arrow sudden appeared and stuck Sokka to a nearby tree by the sleeve of his shirt.

"Sokka! Are you alright?"

"Duck!" Was all Sokka responded, and both Aang and Katara followed his direction without question. Arrows littered the ground a few feet away, their paths slicing the air where their heads had been moments before. Katara jumped to her feet as soon as the arrows stopped falling, racing to her brother's side to see if she could pull him away from the tree.

"I told you this was a bad idea!"

"Katara, this really isn't the time!"

Aang jumped to his feet, bending the air around him into a protective shield from the next volley of arrows. What he didn't expect was more arrows to come from a different direction. He barely had time to duck out of the way.

"Could you please try and hurry?"

"I am hurrying! This thing is wedged tight!" Katara said as she strained her muscles against the resilient arrow.

The ground beneath them suddenly began to heave violently, and both Katara and Aang found themselves on the ground.

"Earthbenders!" Katara shouted as a warning to Aang. The young Airbender didn't have time to respond as the ground around his feet turned soft and he sunk up to his knees before it hardened again.

Aang let out a cry as he fell backward, unable to stand anymore, as Katara looked around frantically for some water to bend. She found none before she let out a yell of fright as two men stepped out of the bushes, grabbing her from behind. A third man came over and bound Sokka's hands and feet before unleashing the arrow and dragging him over to where Aang was still struggling against the earth.

Sokka glanced around as best he could, trying to find an escape route. There appeared to be none. They were completely surrounded by members of the Earth Kingdom. He counted nearly fifty in all.

One of them stepped out for the circle, an elderly man with his face painted in some kind of complex green pattern. As Sokka stared at it, he was reminded of staring up through leaves in summertime.

"Strangers! How dare you set foot in the sacred forest of Tane!"

Katara, Aang, and Sokka looked at each other in confusion.

"Who?" Sokka asked after a moment, one eyebrow raised in a look of confusion.

The man seemed to become angry at this as he lunged forward so his face was inches from Sokka's. With a cry of surprise Sokka jerked back, his tied feet causing him to fall over backwards. The green-faced man loomed over him, eyes flashing.

"Tane is the God of this forest, and these are his sacred peaches! Not only have you angered him by setting foot here, strangers, but you have also eaten his sacred fruit! Tane demands payment!"

"We haven't got any money," Katara explained hurriedly, looking around. "We're just poor travelers, but we'd be happy to try and work to pay you for them!"

The man turned to her now, eyes still dark with rage. Unconsciously, the young Waterbender pulled back slightly in fear.

"Tane does not want money, young Water maiden."

"Well, we haven't got anything else!" Sokka protested, forcing himself up into a sitting position. "That's we stopped to eat your peaches!"

"Tane," the man said as if he hadn't heard Sokka at all, "demands for this most grievous of sins, sacrifice. Tane, demands blood."

Sokka, Katara, and Aang all looked at each other in horror, unable to say speak.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** I hope you all liked part 1! I broke off the chapter where I figured they would put a commercial break. It's kind of fun, actually.

I feel the need to explain the Part 1 in the title. Because I dreamed this like an episode, I'm dividing it up just like it was in my head- into the two half hour segments. The first half hour is The Sacrifice Part 1, the second Part 2, and each with parts going to commercials. Though, I'm happy to report, I didn't dream the commercials.

* * *

The heavy wooden door opened into a windowless, dark room. Three cushions had been placed on the floor, with only a softly glowing lantern in the center for light. Both Katara and Aang let out yells of protest as they were thrown into the room, with Sokka and Momo not far behind them.

"You have until sun down," the green-faced man- whom they now knew was Tane's priest- said grimly, "to decide which of you shall pay Tane's price."

He shut the door even as Aang lunged at it. The young Airbender collided with it, stumbling back in surprise afterward. Summoning up the air around him, Aang tried to knock it down with a swirling ball of air. It did nothing.

"Aang, it's no use," Katara said after watching him do this for several minutes, "the wood is just to thick."

Aang sighed heavily as he stumbled back, sitting down on the cushion not already occupied by Sokka or Katara.

"We can't just do what they want," Aang said with conviction, his grey eyes darting around looking for some kind of place to escape. "If we can call Appa, he could get the door down."

"They tied Appa up too, remember? Besides, he couldn't hear us. Not without some place for the sound to escape. Without windows, this place has to be pretty well sound proof."

Aang's shoulder slumped, disheartened by his lack of options. He looked up at Katara, the lantern light casting odd shadows on his face. "We can't just do what they want."

"I don't think we have any other option," she said softly, "and we only have half an hour to decide which of us…will…" She trailed off, and none of them were willing to complete the thought. A moment of tense silence passed between them.

"I'll do it," Aang said suddenly, his tone serious and eyes dark.

Katara lifted her head, her blue eyes wide. "Aang, you can't!"

"I have to," he said, pulling his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. "I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to either of you."

"But Aang, you're the Avatar," she said, resting a hand on his shoulder. "The whole world is depending on you to save them."

"She's right," Sokka said, his tone eerily calm. "That's more important than either of us. You can't do it, Aang."

Aang said nothing, though his shoulders slumped in defeat.

Katara scooted closer to his side, her hand still resting on his shoulder in a comforting way. "I'll do it."

"What?" Aang looked up at her, eyes suddenly wide. Katara's face was set in a look of determination. "No, Katara!"

"Yes," she said, her words fervid now. "There's no other way. I'm going to do it."

"No way, Katara," Sokka said, crawling over to the pair now. "Aang still has to master Waterbending all the way. If you aren't there to teach him who's going to?"

"Do you have any other suggestions?" Katara shot back, unable to come up with another argument against Sokka's logic. Sokka said nothing, instead pulling back into the darkness again.

"He's right, Katara," Aang said, his grey eyes wide and pleading now, "I need you to teach me bending."

"But Aang, if I don't do it who else will?"

"I have an idea," Sokka said. Both Katara and Aang peered in the direction he had gone, but it was to dark to see him.

"Really, what's that?" Katara asked credulously, folding her arms across her chest in what she hoped was an intimidating manner.

"There's someone else here who could do it."

"Sokka, we're not sacrificing Momo!"

"I'm not talking about Momo." Sokka answered softly, and this time Katara was sure the voice was coming from somewhere different.

Sudden realization dawned on her, and her eyes widened with fright. "Sokka, you're not saying that…"

She didn't get to finish her thought. With one swift movement, Sokka stepped out of the shadows behind them and used his hands to hit both Aang and his sister on the part of the neck he knew would knock them unconscious. He looked down at their now limp forms, his face still eerily calm, before he knelt down. He checked their pulses to make sure he hadn't done any permanent damage, and then moved them into more comfortable positions with their heads resting on the pillows.

"Sorry, you guys, but this is the only way." Standing up to study their faces, Sokka saw glittering eyes peering at him from the corner. He stretched out his hand and Momo darted forward. The lemur rubbed his head softly against the flat side of Sokka's hand. Sokka smiled at the small animal, giving the top of his head a quick scratch. "Look after them for me, okay Momo?"

Momo chirped softly before the door opened and he darted into the shadows again. Sokka stood up, squaring his shoulders and bracing his feet. The eerie twilight lit the previously dark room, and Sokka had to squint to see the priest as he stood in the blood red light of the setting sun.

"Have you decided?" The priest asked, a superior tone in his voice.

"Yeah, we did," Sokka shot back. He glanced over his shoulder at the prone forms of his two friends. He looked back at the priest, blue eyes narrowed. "Do you swear to me that if I go with you, they'll be allowed to leave safely?"

The priest looked toward the setting sun before turning around and nodding. "Tane gives his word."

Sokka nodded, stepping forward. The priest shut the door behind him, and immediately Sokka found his arms restrained by two guards.

"Remove his weapons!" The green-faced man ordered, pointing to Sokka's chest. Three more men stepped forward, removing his knife, club, and boomerang from his person. Sokka bowed his head in a sign of respect.

"If you please, sir…if I'm going to die, can I at least keep my boomerang? It was present from my father…"

The priest eyed him suspiciously, but Sokka didn't flinch or move. Finally, he motioned one of the guards to return the boomerang to the boy. Sokka replaced it in its sheath before more of the eerily clad Earth Kingdom citizens stepped forward. The placed a bundle of wood upon his shoulders before lifting his arms and tying them to it.

Sokka could see women and children peering out of the nearby houses, some looking at him with expressions of curiosity on their faces while others eyed him with contempt. A woman ran forward with a rope that was tied in a loop. She placed it around his neck and tightened it to a level where it could not slip off but was not yet choking him. She handed the other end to the priest with a quick bow.

Sokka looked around at the rows of small wooden houses, perfectly camouflaged with the trees. Even if he did manage to escape, there was no guarantee he'd find this place unless he walked into one of the buildings. Katara and Aang going free was the only thing he could hope for now.

"Come," said the priest, jerking the rope around Sokka's neck so he stumbled forward. "We have a long way to walk before dawn."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Bare with my speed here. When I said you're supposed to read it as an episode, I meant it. I'm pretending that I have to write this to be read in twenty minutes…which doesn't _really_ work because people read at different speeds but whatever. This chapter jumps around a bit more than the other two, so I'm going to use a horizontal line where there would be a scene transition, okay?

* * *

Katara groaned as she moved her head, her eyes remaining closed as she rolled from her back to her side. "What hit me?" She asked no one in particular. "I remember we were discussing who should go and then Sokka…"

Katara's eyes snapped open and she sat up fully, "Sokka!" Her eyes quickly adjusted to the dim light. The lantern had gone out, but the door was hanging wide open and bathing the small room with grey predawn light. There was no sign of her brother.

Hearing a groan behind her, Katara turned around to see Aang sitting up and rubbing his head. "Ow…"

"Aang, Sokka's gone!"

"What?" The twelve-year-old Avatar jumped to his feet, looking around. "It can't be past sunset already!"

Katara got to her feet to, looking around frantically. "Aang, I think it's nearly dawn!"

A fluffy white ball sprung out of the corner, making both of the young teens jump in surprise. Momo chirped at them and blinked.

"Momo!" Aang said in surprise, rubbing his head against the lemurs.

"Momo, where's Sokka?" Katara asked. The little lemur chirped sadly before gliding off of Aang's shoulder and to the door. Katara and Aang followed, peering outside. The village was quiet except for a few guards standing at the edge of the street. The pair continued looking around until Katara spotted something on the ground that made her heart stand still.

"Oh no," she gasped as she dashed forward. She covered the couple dozen feet in a matter of moments to kneel down by Sokka's knife and club, which were lying in an X on the ground. She picked up the knife carefully, swallowing hard.

"It's not to late," Aang said, running up behind her. "We can still find him."

Katara nodded, picking up the club as well and getting to her feet. Her body language screamed determination as she and Aang walked toward the forest's edge…only to be stopped by two guards who had been concealed there.

"No one is to enter the forest until the sacrifice is over," said one of the guards.

"Especially not _outsiders_," said the other.

"That's my brother in there," Katara yelled. "Let me pass!"

"Tane has commanded we not harm you, since the sacrifice went willingly. He has also commanded that you are not to enter the wood. Turn around, and we shall let you go."

With a scowl, Katara did turn around. After a second she whirled around again and blast the guards with water from a nearby tap. She grabbed Aang's hand, racing toward the tree line. "Aang, come on!"

One of the now drenched warriors shifted, and put a round wooden horn to his lips and blew. Instantly, guards swarmed in on the pair from all directions. A few even jumped out of the trees, landing only inches from their noses. Katara and Aang were forced to stumble back, farther from their goal.

"No outsider is to enter the sacred wood!" One of the men said, taking a step toward them.

"I'm not going to just let you sacrifice my brother!" Katara yelled back. With a wave of her arms and a careful movement of her wrist, she pulled the water from the puddle she created earlier over. With a grunt of effort, she sent the water crashing into two more guards, knocking them down. Aang took this as his signal, and started circulating air in his hands before sending a mini-cyclone into the stomach of one of them men that sent him sliding a few dozen feet away.

The guards, however, had had enough of this. Some pulled out spears, while others began to move their bodies in an obviously practiced pattern. Katara ducked just in time as a large rock came flying at her head, and Aang barely managed to summon enough air to break his in half and have the two halves fly around him.

"It is Tane's will," said the same guard that had spoke earlier as he dropped from his bending stance, "that your brother die at dawn."

* * *

"We're here," the priest said as they entered a clearing. It appeared to be a meadow with a lone tree standing in the middle and a flat rock with chains attached underneath the tree. Beside the alter was some kind of fire, though how it was burning unattended Sokka could not tell. The priest gave another jerk of the rope and Sokka fell to his knees with a crash, unable to catch himself with his tied hands.

The rope had rubbed his neck raw, and he never wanted to walk another step in his life. The muscles in his shoulders had long ago cramped and now felt as though they were on fire. He groaned and hung his head as the priest came forward. As soon as the ropes tying his arms had been cut, Sokka felt his arms fall uselessly to his side. He'd planned to use his boomerang to fight off the priest, but there was no point in even trying now.

"I don't think I'll ever be able to lift my arms again," Sokka muttered. The priest tied the rope that still hung from Sokka's neck to a nearby rock as he easily hoisted the large pile of sticks and moving it around to near the alter. He unbound them, revealing they were in fact several bundles of sticks all tied tightly together.

As Sokka watched, unable to move, the priest began to set the sticks up around the alter.

* * *

Katara swung her arms forward, calling forth a large amount of water from the nearby town well and sending it toward the earth bender that had trapped her there. The earth bender raised his arms as well, summoning up a wall of rock to protect him from the force of the blast and send the water scattering in droplets.

Katara panted heavily, wiping sweat off her brow. She had long ago pocketed Sokka's knife, but she had lost his club somewhere.

"We need a plan!" Aang yelled from the other side of the well as he launched himself over the heads of the Earth Kingdom warriors and onto the roof. Katara glanced at the swiftly lighting horizon, her heart hammering in her chest.

"Aang, we're running out of time! Even if we ran we'd never make it!"

Aang dropped down next to his friend, using his airbending to send more soldiers flying backwards and by them more time to think of a plan.

"Appa! If we fly we'll get there fast enough!"

Katara sent a wave crashing over both their heads, taking three of the earth benders with it. "Then we better hurry and find him!"

Aang shot into the air once more, sprinting along the rooftops in search of his flying bison friend.

* * *

Sokka had very nearly fallen asleep when he felt the rope being jerked again. With a slightly strangled moan he was yanked to his feet.

"Get up," the priest snapped, even though the fifteen-year-old was nearly upright now any more. Using the rope to guide the sore-muscled boy they were soon standing by the alter. With a series of quick, solid movements the priest preformed some earthbending, shifting the rocks under Sokka's feet and sending him tumbling head long onto the stone.

While he was still disoriented from the fall, Sokka felt his body being ruthless jerked around and cold iron clasped firmly onto his wrists and ankles. He now found himself flat on his back and effectively unable to move.

Sokka watched as the priest removed one of the sticks from the top of the pile surrounding him, and his blue eyes widened as the priest lit it on fire from the burning oil nearby.

"What keeps it burning," Sokka asked, hoping to stall for time. The plan didn't quite succeed as the priest withdrew a silver dagger and turned to face the eastern horizon before answering.

"The spirit of Tane dwells in this tree, and it is the power of his presence that keeps the fire from going out."

Sokka made a noise of disbelief, which the green-faced man ignored.

* * *

Aang leapt off the roof, using his bending to create an air cushion and slow his fall. Appa, who had been tied using several ropes, raised his head and looked at him. With one swift motion of his arms, Aang sent a blast of air along the ground, uprooting the stakes that had tied Appa down. The bison stood and yawned as Aang rocketed up to land on his head.

"Come on boy, Katara and Sokka need our help! Yip-Yip!"

With one thump of his massive tail, Appa lifted off the ground to sail over the nearby rooftops, but Aang would allow him to go no higher. When he spotted Katara, now surrounded by the warriors and bending water in every direction, he urged the bison to go faster.

Appa landed with a thud, and used his heavy tail to bend air toward their assailants as Katara scrambled on. Once his friend was safely inside the saddle, Aang gave the reigns another jerk. "Yip-Yip!"

Appa had just lifted off the ground when Aang heard an excited squeal behind him. His eyes widened in realization as he turned and looked at the ground. "Momo!"

The little lemur was sitting on Sokka's club, hissing and swiping at the Earth Kingdom soldiers that had surrounded him. Running back along the bison, Aang snagged his glider from where it had been resting with the rest of their supplies and jumped off Appa's back. Swiping it in an arc, Aang sent the men sprawling before creating a cushion of air to soften his landing. Grabbing Momo and the club, he shot back in the air and grabbed Appa's tail just as the first light was appearing over the horizon.

* * *

Sokka was momentarily blinded as the first rays of dawn light caught the dagger's edge, flashing into his eyes. When his vision cleared, he saw the priest was now approaching him. Sokka's eyes widened and then closed with pain as the edge of the dagger was drawn along his face. He felt blood begin to trickle, and opened his eyes again. The priest was examining his blood.

"Dark…good. Tane will accept this sacrifice." The priest pulled back again, this time aiming to plunge the knife into Sokka's chest. Sokka closed his eyes, bracing himself for the pain. He heard the whistling sound of the knife, and then a noise of metal on metal.

Risking opening his eyes, Sokka's mouth fell open. Standing above him, using the wrists of his armor to stop the knife, was Prince Zuko.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Never fear, those of you who are confused by Zuko's action. He will explain himself momentarily. Sorry about the delay in this one. School took over. AND wouldn't let me upload it forever and a day. Gr!

* * *

The priest stumbled back, dropping the blood stained knife to the ground. "A demon!" He gasped, eyes wide in his dark face.

Zuko said nothing in return, though his eye narrowed considerably. He pulled back his arm and unleashed a small jet of flame at the priest. The man dodged it before stepping forward to summon up a part of the ground before him. With a punch of his hand, he sent the rock flying at Zuko's head. Zuko dodged it easily and it went crashing into the trees behind him.

Once he'd safely cleared the rock, Zuko returned the move with a spinning kick. Flames extended past his foot, and the priest had to call up another rock to block the blast. He sent the same rock flying toward his opponent, and Zuko kicked out with sudden force so it shattered.

Without pausing, Zuko preformed a rapid series of punches and kicks designed to press the man backwards, towards the tree where the roots would prevent his earth bending from being very effective. With a yell of frustration, the priest threw his flaming torch at the firebender's head.

Zuko dodged it, but to Sokka's horror it landed on the sticks surrounding the rock he was still chained to. It flickered twice before a nearby stick caught and from there it began to quickly spread. With a yell of fright, Sokka strained against the chains and quickly began trying to blow the flames out.

Punching twice, Zuko backed the man still further against the tree. He managed to pull up another chunk of rock to throw at him. Zuko ducked to avoid it, grabbing the rope that had tied the sticks together as he did so. Noticing this, the priest used his earthbending to pull up some earth behind Zuko and send it into his back. The firebender prince toppled forward with a yell of frustration.

"Aang, look!" Katara said, pointing to a line of smoke to the west of them.

"Do you think that's them?" He asked, looking over.

"It has to be!"

"Come on Appa, Sokka needs our help! Yip-Yip!"

Zuko was on his feet again, and with a flaming kick he caught the priest in the chest and sent the elderly man crashing into the tree. Darting forward with the rope, he ran around and tied him to the tree with a quick knot. Zuko smirked at him. "You won't be escaping from that easily."

"Little help!" Sokka yelled, struggling against the chains. His face was coated in sweat from the heat of the fire, and he was beginning to choke on the smoke around him. Sokka closed his eyes against the burning heat, gasping for breath.

A sudden sensation of intense heat on the back of his right hand caused him to open his eyes again, and turn his head. Zuko was standing there, manipulating the flames so they were melting the chains. He made quick work of that one, the moved around to work on his other arm. As soon as his limbs were free, Sokka felt Zuko grab him by the front of the shirt and yank him out of the flames. The strap of his boomerang sheath caught one of the flaming sticks and snapped, but there was little he could do about it as he was thrown to the ground.

Coughing and rubbing his head, Sokka sat up. He glanced over at the priest before standing up fully and dusting himself off. He looked at Zuko and forced a smile. "Hey, thanks for saving me. Maybe you're not such a bad guy after all. I think I'll just be going then." Sokka turned around and started walking back in the direction of the village when he felt a hand on his shoulder and was pulled around so he was nearly nose-to-nose with Zuko.

"I didn't save you for no reason," the prince said, his yellow eyes flashing.

Sokka groaned as his arms were tugged behind his back and tied with the same rope previously used for his neck. "I was afraid you were going to say that."

Zuko shoved him forward, in the direction he had come from, without another word. The two where just down the hill and out of sight when Appa landed heavily in the clearing.

Aang leapt off Appa's head and ran to the now smoldering pile of sticks, "Sokka!"

Katara followed her friend a little bit slower, looking around frantically for some sign of her brother. "Sokka? Sokka, where are you?"

"Katara! Over here!"

The young Waterbender looked over at her friend. Aang was standing with his back toward her, but she could see his shoulders were sagging in defeat. She gasped and ran over as Aang turned around. Lying in his hand was Sokka's boomerang, the strapping of the sheath burned and torn.

"We're to late," Aang muttered dejectedly as Katara grabbed the object from him.

"No…Sokka…" Katara fell to her knees, tears falling down her face as she sobbed. "Sokka…"

Aang put a hand on the girl's shoulder, his own eyes bright with unshed tears. "Katara…I'm so sorry…"

"Why did he always have to play the hero? It's not fair!"

Aang didn't respond to her, instead just giving her a quick one-armed hug. A husky voice from the tree made them both jump.

"Spare your tears, outsider! No blood has been spilt this day."

Katara and Aang, tears forgotten now, both ran over to the tree. To their surprise, they found the priest was tied there. They stared at each other in surprise before looking back at the obviously furious priest.

"What do you mean?" Katara ventured. "What happened to Sokka?"

The man scowled, looking up at the sky. "You are strangers here in Tane's temple! I will not tell you anything."

"You have to tell us where Sokka is," Aang said, glaring angrily at the man.

"I don't have to tell you anything." The man shot back, his anger and humiliation rising to meet Aang's own.

Beside the young Avatar, Katara closed her eyes and clenched her fists. Her brother's boomerang still in hand, Katara raised her arms. The water from the river below answered her call, rising over its banks and up the hill, forming a massive wave behind her.

"Where's," she said with slow deliberation, "my brother?"

The priest gulped, his brown eyes wide with sudden fright. "Tane was most displeased with this sacrifice! He sent a scar-faced demon to keep me from killing him."

Katara let the water recede back before looking at Aang, "scar-faced demon?"

Sudden realization dawned on Aang's face, and his eyes widened as well, "Zuko."

Iroh and the crew looked at Zuko in confusion as he pulled a struggling Sokka a long the deck. Iroh crossed his arms over his chest, raising an eyebrow.

"I send you out in search of a village so we can get some food, and you come back with another mouth to feed?"

"It's worth it, Uncle," Zuko said calmly, pushing Sokka into his surprised crew. "He is a companion of the Avatar. He'll be looking for him, and when he does I'll capture him. Take him to the prison hold!"

The two firebenders looked at each other for a moment, shrugged, and did as the Prince ordered them to do.


End file.
